"We just want to set the record straight. It is farmer-selected seeds and not hybrid rice which is feeding our population. Anyone claiming otherwise is deceiving the public," Ka Jimmy Tadeo of the National Rice Farmers Council (NFRC) said.

According to Centro Saka Inc (CSI) and the NRFC, data obtained from government show that despite the enormous resources being poured into hybrid rice, it continues to lag behind other farmer-selected and certified seeds in terms of actual contribution to domestic production.

"While government often attributes rising production to hybrid rice, figures show that its share in production remains small. There is a gap between what the cold, hard facts tell us and what the hybrid rice promoters within The Department of Agriculture want us to believe," Centro Saka's Romeo Royandoyan said. "The DA's data show that hybrid rice contributes only 12 percent of production despite getting the biggest chunk of government resources for rice. In contrast, good seeds, or seeds selected from previous plantings, account for about 50 percent of palay production while certified seeds make up 30 percent," disclosed Royandoyan.

CSI and the NFRC went on to question the wisdom of allocating a large share of the rice budget on any one program, particularly one that has failed to yield significant results.

"The hybrid rice program is getting resources which are disproportionate to its actual contribution. With the increasing instability in world food supplies, now would be a good time ask whether these resources are better spent elsewhere," Tadeo said.